ALERT
On August 10 the hunting season for wolves and their four month old pups will begin outside Denali National Park and Preserve, and on over half the lands on the inside. The bag limit is ten wolves for park land subsistence hunters and five for those with a regular state hunting license.
This summer's hunt could result in the extinction of the world's most famous pack. The Toklat (East Fork) family was the first group of wolves studied in the wild, and the resulting book by Adolph Murie has become a classic. Even more remarkable, the Toklat wolves have been continuously monitored for over half a century, making them the oldest family lineage of wolves known to science. Dr. Gordon Haber, who in 1966 took over from Adolph Murie in researching the Toklat and other wolves of Denali, says, "I have felt a great sense of wonder in having personally watched this fascinating group since my arrival. They have a sophisticated family structure that provides invaluable insight about the dynamics of social systems in general".
"Giving complete protection to the Toklat wolves also makes good economic sense", says Dr. Paul Joslin, wolf biologist and executive director of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance. "For more than 60 years the Toklat family has been seen by park visitors. Three to 400,000 tourists visit Denali annually. Studies have shown that the average tourist is willing to spend over $4,000 on a trip to Alaska that includes the expectation of seeing a live wolf. The Toklat wolves are the most viewed in the world. Considering that no wolf family has yet been given full legal protection anywhere in Alaska, protecting these wolves would have special significance".
A precedent already exists for an animal that is much more abundant. The Denali caribou herd, which currently numbers about 2,500 head, is protected both inside and outside the park and preserve, and has been since 1976. There are over a million caribou in Alaska, and their numbers have more than tripled in the past two decades.
The Alaska Wildlife Alliance has asked the park authorities to consider giving legal protection to the Toklat wolves when they are within the reserve, and to request the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) to take similar action whenever the pack moves onto state lands. The need for action is critical. This past year the Toklat wolves plummeted from 12 to two adults. Much of the decline occurred when they moved onto state lands where hunting and trapping was in full swing. The Alliance has also discussed the matter with Governor Tony Knowles and the ADFG in hopes that federal and state agency cooperation, coupled with public support, will result in swift action.
We need your help. Please contact Stephen Martin, Denali Park Superintendent, P.O. Box 9, Denali Park, AK 99755, tel. 907 683-2294, fax 907 683-9612, and Governor Tony Knowles State Capitol, P.O. Box 110001, Juneau, AK 99811, tel. 907 465-3500, fax 907 465-3532, e-mail governor@gov.state.ak.us. and ask them to give the Toklat wolves full legal protection from both hunting and trapping.
"If this family is destroyed", says Joslin, "along with them will go their traditional knowledge. New wolves moving into the area will not know where to den, where, when, and what to hunt, or what trails to follow. Much strife can be expected to occur between the newcomers and their wolf neighbors, other predators and with their prey, all of which may take years to stabilize. We are just beginning to understand the complexities that go on in the functioning of a wolf family and how it relates to the ecosystem. The good news is that the remaining pair of Toklat wolves have given birth to four pups, so there is still a chance to keep the lineage going, if we will just stop killing them".
"I agree", says Joel Bennett, Alaskan representative for Defenders of Wildlife, and former member of the Alaska Board of Game. "To save these wolves is to put them on a par with saving the mountain gorillas in Rwanda, or the tigers in India".
For more information, contact The Alaska Wildlife Alliance, P.O. box 202022, Anchorage, AK, 99520, tel. 907 277-0897, fax 907 277-7423, e-mailAWA@alaska.net
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May the Wolf Spirit guide you on your path May the Wolf Spirit touch your heart & soul May his howls be heard thru the valleys and forests And carried like whispers on the wind
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